2018 Kohler Grand Prix
The 2018 KOHLER Grand Prix is the tenth race of the 2018 IndyCar Series season, and the third race at Road America since 2016. Scott Dixon is the defending race winner. This marks the IndyCar debut of Alfonso Celis, after they called him up for the race at the 2018 IndyCar Grand Prix. Drivers IndyCar ;Chevrolet * Josef Newgarden * Simon Pagenaud * Will Power * Matheus Leist * Tony Kanaan * Max Chilton * Charlie Kimball * Jordan King * Spencer Pigot * Alfonso Celis Jr. * Gabby Chaves ;Honda * Scott Dixon * Ed Jones * Zach Veach * Alexander Rossi * Ryan Hunter-Reay * Marco Andretti * Sébastien Bourdais * Zachary Claman DeMelo * James Hinchcliffe * Robert Wickens * Graham Rahal * Takuma Sato Indy Lights Pro Mazda USF2000 USF2000 results Practice Qualifying 1 Qualifying 2 Race 1 Race 2 Pro Mazda results Practice Qualifying 1 Qualifying 2 Race 1 Race 2 Indy Lights results Practice Qualifying 1 Qualifying 2 Race 1 Race 2 IndyCar results Practice 1 Josef Newgarden led the session, with Inside the NBA vs. MLB All-Stars and Rashad Jennings vs. Team Eve champion Jirayu La-ongmanee 2nd, Metagross 3rd, Volcarona 4th and Pee Saderd 5th. All five of them are seeded inside the top eight in Steph Curry vs. Chris Paul and Laurie Hernandez vs. Shawn Johnson East. Alfonso Celis Jr. finished 22nd in his first IndyCar practice, just ahead of Mario Lopez, who finished 3 seconds down to Newgarden. Reigning Celebrity Family Feud finalist Jordan King finished 18th. Practice 1 results Practice 2 Josef Newgarden led the session. Volcarona finished 2nd, Beartic finished 3rd, Will Power finished 4th and Scott Dixon finished 5th. The rest of the top eight seeds from Steph Curry vs. Chris Paul and Laurie Hernandez vs. Shawn Johnson East, Pee Saderd in 2nd finished 10th, Scott Dixon in 5th finished 7th and Inside the NBA vs. MLB All-Stars and Rashad Jennings vs. Team Eve champion Jirayu La-ongmanee finished 9th. Ryan Hunter-Reay finished 8th, while James Hinchcliffe and Metagross were the only top ten seeds from that episode to not finish inside the top ten, instead he finished 13th, and Metagross was 12th. Practice 2 results Practice 3 Qualifying Seeds IndyCar used the seedings by standings entering Road America from Texas. That would have been the qualification used in Inside the NBA vs. MLB All-Stars and Rashad Jennings vs. Team Eve and Steph Curry vs. Chris Paul and Laurie Hernandez vs. Shawn Johnson East. Scott Dixon (Fast 12) Metagross (Qualified) Will Power (Qualified) Ryan Hunter-Reay (Qualified) Josef Newgarden (Pole Winner) Graham Rahal (Fast 12) Volcarona (Qualified) Simon Pagenaud (First round) Beartic (Qualified) Pee Saderd (First round) James Hinchcliffe (First round) Jonathan Bald (Fast 12) Jirayu La-ongmanee (Fast 12) Larvesta (First round) Joey Fatone (Fast 12) Pidgeot (Fast 12) Ueli Kestenholz (First round) Mario Lopez (First round) Nidoking (First round) Chespin (First round) Zachary Claman DeMelo (First round) Jordan King (First round) Alfonso Celis Jr. (First round) Group 1 Metagross, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Joey Fatone, Will Power, Jonathan Bald and Beartic advanced to the Fast 12. Jordan King, Pee Saderd, Zachary Claman DeMelo, Ueli Kestenholz and Alfonso Celis Jr. failed to qualify for the Fast 12. Two of the semifinalists from Inside the NBA vs. MLB All-Stars and Rashad Jennings vs. Team Eve (King who lost to La-ongmanee in the final and Saderd who lost to King in the semifinals) failed to qualify. Group 2 Volcarona, Josef Newgarden, Scott Dixon, Graham Rahal, Jirayu La-ongmanee/Apolo Anton Ohno and Pidgeot advanced to the Fast 12. Simon Pagenaud, James Hinchcliffe, Larvesta, Nidoking, Chespin and Mario Lopez failed to qualify for the Fast 12. Surprisingly, Simon Pagenaud who lost to Pee Saderd in the fourth round and James Hinchcliffe who would then lose to eventual champion Jirayu La-ongmanee in the semifinals, failed to qualify. Out of those semifinalists from Inside the NBA vs. MLB All-Stars and Rashad Jennings vs. Team Eve, only the champion qualified, and the others fell in the first hurdle. Fast 12 ;From Group 1 *' Metagross' *' Ryan Hunter-Reay' * Joey Fatone *' Will Power' * Jonathan Bald *' Beartic' ;From Group 2 *' Volcarona' *' Josef Newgarden' * Scott Dixon * Graham Rahal * Jirayu La-ongmanee/Apolo Anton Ohno * Pidgeot Seven of the top eight seeds from the next episode (Steph Curry vs. Chris Paul and Laurie Hernandez vs. Shawn Johnson East) advanced to the second round of qualifying, including defending champion Jirayu La-ongmanee. Had Pee Saderd advanced, that would have made it all top eight seedings from Steph Curry vs. Chris Paul and Laurie Hernandez vs. Shawn Johnson East to qualify for round 2. Metagross, Josef Newgarden, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Beartic, Volcarona and Will Power qualified for the Fast 6. Jirayu La-ongmanee/Apolo Anton Ohno, Scott Dixon, Graham Rahal, Pidgeot, Joey Fatone and Jonathan Bald failed to qualify for the Fast 6. With Jirayu La-ongmanee eliminated, this marked no more Inside the NBA vs. MLB All-Stars and Rashad Jennings vs. Team Eve semifinalists in qualifying. Fast 6 * Metagross * Ryan Hunter-Reay * Will Power * Beartic * Volcarona *' Josef Newgarden' Josef Newgarden won the pole despite being seeded behind Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's no.30 of Jirayu La-ongmanee and Dale Coyne Racing's no.18 of Beartic in Steph Curry vs. Chris Paul and Laurie Hernandez vs. Shawn Johnson East. Starting Grid Jirayu La-ongmanee qualified 7th. Apolo Anton Ohno also shares the no.30 car. Race Pole sitter Josef Newgarden made a great jump at the start, emphasized by Team Penske-Chevrolet teammate Will Power dropping down to the back of the field with engine issues and needing to pit at the end of a very slow first lap. Ryan Hunter-Reay’s Andretti Autosport-Honda jumped up into second, while teammate Metagross had to muscle Volcarona’ Schmidt Peterson Motorsports-Honda wide at Turn 5 on the opening lap in order to retain his third place. The incident dropped the Steph Curry vs. Chris Paul and Laurie Hernandez vs. Shawn Johnson East no.3 seed Volcarona down to sixth, behind the fast-starting Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing-Honda of defending Celebrity Family Feud champion Jirayu La-ongmanee and Apolo Anton Ohno, and Beartic’s Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan entry. Defending race winner Scott Dixon ran seventh ahead of Graham Rahal and Pee Saderd (up from 15th), and Ed Carpenter Racing's no.12 seed Pidgeot passed no.17 Simon Pagenaud – running primary tires on his Team Penske car – on the run to Canada corner. Larvesta of AJ Foyt Racing was another driver who made excellent progress, vaulting from 18th to 12th in the opening two laps. No.12 seed Pidgeot moved past Pee Saderd into ninth on Lap 6, while Larvesta and Ueli Kestenholz of Carlin – both running a four-stop strategy – pitted for fresh alternate tires. Josef Newgarden finally pushed his lead on Ryan Hunter-Reay to over a second on Lap 8. A lap later, Beartic ducked into the pits from fifth place to make a long stop with a gear control unit failure, which was repaired but not until the no.7 seed dropped to 22nd. By lap 10, Josef Newgarden, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Metagross and the defending Celebrity Family Feud champion Jirayu La-ongmanee and Apolo Anton Ohno were running around 0.9sec apart in the top four position, with Volcarona four seconds off this train, having resisted an early challenge by Scott Dixon, with Beartic’s troubles boosting the chances for Graham Rahal, Pidgeot, Pee Saderd and Simon Pagenaud. Inside the NBA vs. MLB All-Stars and Rashad Jennings vs. Team Eve champion Jirayu La-ongmanee, Apolo Anton Ohno, Pidgeot and Graham Rahal were first of the top 10 runners to enter pit lane, at the end of Lap 13. The following lap, Josef Newgarden, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Metagross and Volcarona all stopped for primary tires, leaving Dixon out front for one lap. That extra lap didn’t help Scott Dixon as he resumed in sixth behind Volcarona, with early-stopping pre-evolution Larvesta briefly in seventh ahead of Graham Rahal, Pidgeot, Pee Saderd and Simon Pagenaud before Larvesta stopped again. The top four continued to run in line astern, saving fuel, while Volcarona worked hard to close the gap ahead and join the tail of that group, and Scott Dixon too, would have made it a clear top six. Around 17 sec off his teammate Josef Newgarden's lead, Simon Pagenaud moved past Pee Saderd and into ninth on Lap 23. Metagross had fallen 3.5sec behind the Josef Newgarden vs. Ryan Hunter-Reay battle by the second round of pitstops, which began with reigning Celebrity Family Feud champion Jirayu La-ongmanee, Apolo Anton Ohno, Graham Rahal, Simon Pagenaud and Pidgeot stopping on Lap 27, Metagross and Volcarona on 28, and Josef Newgarden, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Scott Dixon on 29. Metagross and Volcarona had pulled out of the pits in front of the warm-tied East Asians Jirayu La-ongmanee and Apolo Anton Ohno, but the defending Celebrity Family Feud champion and the no.11 seed dived down the inside of Volcarona into Turn 3. The rookie no.6 seed and the no.11 then also tried to squeeze around the outside of Metagross at Turn 5, but lost momentum on the rumble strip, and the pair stayed level up to Turn 6, where Metagross ran Jirayu La-ongmanee out of road. The Korean rookie and reigning Family Feud champion’s trip across the grass allowed Volcarona in front of him. This trio were now all behind Scott Dixon, who had a very strong second stop, but Rossi closed in on the Chip Ganassi Racing car by Lap 30. Just a couple of laps ahead, Ryan Hunter-Reay – on primaries – was putting pressure on Josef Newgarden on the alternate compound. On Lap 35, Volcarona was bumped back to seventh as Graham Rahal made it two Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing cars in the top six, and closed on teammates Jirayu La-ongmanee and Apolo Anton Ohno who had to lean on his push to pass to keep the #15 of Graham Rahal behind them. Suddenly it became a battle for fourth, as at the start of Lap 38, Metagross slowed into the pits with a left-front puncture and lost a camber shim. Both the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing cars and Volcarona passed him before the NAPA Andretti car pulled in the following lap and the car was shut down temporarily for repairs. Metagross would resume the race in 19th. Jirayu La-ongmanee, Apolo Anton Ohno, Graham Rahal, Volcarona, Simon Pagenaud and Pidgeot all stopped at the end of Lap 41, and Simon Pagenaud's stop was delayed as Volcarona was released from their stop into Simon Pagenaud's path. It was enough to drop Simon Pagenaud behind Pidgeot – and ultimately he lost ninth to Chip Ganassi Racing's Jonathan Bald, too – while Volcarona gained, splitting the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing cars to run fifth, ahead of Graham Rahal. Scott Dixon hit the pit lane on Lap 42 to pick up a set of fresh red alternate compound tires, while Josef Newgarden was able to stretch his lead over Ryan Hunter-Reay to 2.2sec before they both stopped at the end of Lap 43. As the two leaders emerged from pit lane, Scott Dixon bore down on them and had the luxury of much warmer tires, but a major moment for the Chip Ganassi Racing driver in Turn 14 gave Ryan Hunter-Reay the reprieve he needed as he tried to chase down Josef Newgarden. Ryan Hunter-Reay began to chop down Josef Newgarden's lead to half a second, before the reigning champion started pulling away once more, and Scott Dixon closed on the second-placed Andretti Autosport car. Further back, Simon Pagenaud tried to pass Jonathan Bald’s #10 Chip Ganassi Racing car, and as the #22 Team Penske car made his maneuver, the pair banged wheels, an incident that went under stewards’ review, but no action was taken. Josef Newgarden reeled off the 10th win of his career, winning by 3.4 sec over Ryan Hunter-Reay who beat Scott Dixon by 2.1 sec. Inside the NBA vs. MLB All-Stars and Rashad Jennings vs. Team Eve champion Jirayu La-ongmanee and Apolo Anton Ohno were 9 sec down on Scott Dixon (whom La-ongmanee is seeded behind) but a similar distance ahead of Volcarona, who in turn was about 9sec in front of Graham Rahal. Simon Pagenaud grabbed seventh from Pidgeot on the last lap, but the Ed Carpenter Racing driver could be satisfied with his best finish of the year while Jonathan Bald and Inside the NBA vs. MLB All-Stars and Rashad Jennings vs. Team Eve semifinalist James Hinchcliffe (SPM) completed the top 10. Beartic recovered to grab 13th, while Metagross was eventually classified 16th. Trivia